Being Different
by SSFan0402
Summary: Here's my first ever Sesame Street fanfiction I wrote back in late 2013. Hope you enjoy it. All characters belong to Sesame Workshop Lexi and her mother belong to me.


It was a sunny day on Sesame Street. Residents on the street were playing games or hanging out with friends like normally when two muppets came to the neighborhood for the very first time. It was a little 10-year-old muppet girl named Lexi with her mother, who was also a muppet.

"Now Lexi," said her mother, holding two suitcases in her hands, "I'm going into the Furry Arms to get our room and put these bags down. So I want you to stay here in the neighborhood until I get back."

"But mother," said Lexi. "I don't know anybody here."

"It's alright, sweetheart," said her mother, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "You'll be fine. Now why don't you look around Sesame Street and go meet some people. You're going to make lots of friends here in this friendly town."

"Okay mother," said Lexi, with a smile.

Her mother smiled back and went into the Furry Arms Hotel as she saw Grover as a bellhop.

"Why hello there, madam," said Grover. "Welcome to Sesame Street. And welcome to the Furry Arms Hotel. May I take your bags to your room?"

"Why thank you, sir," said Lexi's mother.

"My name is Grover," said Grover.

"I'm Lexi's mother," said Lexi's mother, shaking his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Grover."

"Who's Lexi?" asked Grover.

"She's my daughter," said Lexi's mother. "She's going around Sesame Street trying to meet some of the people here."

"I see," said Grover, taking her bags.

"I guess I should do what my mother said," Lexi said to herself. "Look around and meet some people."

She paused and said, "But I'm too shy. I don't think anyone would want to be my friend. I've never had friends in my life or in school."

Lexi sat down on the porch to an apartment building and watch the kids and muppets play on the playground and the basketball court. She sighed and kept thinking if she should go over there and ask the kids to play. But she was too nervous and shy. So she took out her jigsaw puzzle that had a picture of kids playing outside and started to put the pieces together. Then she was almost done with the puzzle. But the last piece was missing.

"Oh no," said Lexi, looking in the box for the puzzle piece. "The last one is gone! What am I going to do?! My puzzle is not finished!"

She took a deep breath and said to herself, "It's okay, Lexi. Calm down. Find someone who can help you find the missing puzzle piece."

Just then, Sherlock Hemlock and his dog Watson saw Lexi sitting on the porch by herself and walked over to her as Sherlock said, "Are you alright, little girl?"

"Huh?" said Lexi, seeing Sherlock and Watson. "Who are you?"

"Sherlock Hemlock, the world's greatest detective," said Sherlock. "And this is my dog and sidekick, Watson."

"Woof!" said Watson.

"Hello," said Lexi, in a shy voice.

"Don't be shy," said Sherlock, placing his hand on Lexi's shoulder.

"Aaaaahh!" said Lexi, freaking out. "I don't like to be touched!"

"Sorry," said Sherlock, quickly pulling his hand away. "What's your name, little girl?"

"I'm Lexi," said Lexi. "How come I'm so shy, Mr. Hemlock?"

"Please call me Sherlock," said Sherlock. "And I'm going to find some clues to figure out what the problem with you is."

"Okay," said Lexi.

"It seems you are having trouble making friends," said Sherlock, seeing the kids play games. "Are you new here?"

"Yes I am, Sherlock," said Lexi.

"And it seems like you're very sensitive when people touch you," said Sherlock.

"Uh huh," said Lexi, looking at the sky.

"And you have trouble with eye contact," said Sherlock, looking straight at her with his magnifying glass. "Can you look at me for a few more seconds, please Lexi?"

"I'm trying to," said Lexi, still looking at the sky. "But I can't."

Just then, since the kids were making loud and happy noises while playing games, Lexi quickly plugged her ears because she didn't like it.

"Egad!" said Sherlock, with his pointer finger up. "I know what's wrong!"

"What?" asked Lexi.

"It seems to me that you have Aspergers Syndrome," said Sherlock.

"Aspergers Syndrome?" said Lexi, all confused. "What's that?"

"It's a mild form of the neurological disability called autism," said Sherlock. "But don't worry, it's not bad."

"Are you sure, Sherlock?" asked Lexi.

"Yes I'm sure, Lexi," said Sherlock. "You're perfectly normal like everyone else."

"Thank you, Sherlock," said Lexi, with a smile. "Now I see why I'm so lonely."

"You're welcome," said Sherlock, smiling back. "Can I give you a hug? That's if you want me to."

"Yes please," said Lexi, nodding her head.

Sherlock gave Lexi a hug. As well as Watson licking her face while she giggled.

"Can you help me find my missing puzzle piece since you're a detective?" asked Lexi.

"Of course," said Sherlock, taking the puzzle piece out of his trenchcoat pocket. "Here you are."

"Did you take my puzzle piece?" asked Lexi.

"No I didn't," said Sherlock. "I found it on the street sidewalk. It seems that it fell out of your bag when you and your mother came here."

"So that's where it was," said Lexi, accepting the recovered puzzle piece. "Thank you for finding it, Sherlock. Now I can finish my jigsaw puzzle."

Lexi placed the last puzzle piece in the proper place.

"There," said Lexi. "It's done. Doesn't it look nice?"

"It does," said Sherlock, nodding his head. "You know, a shape of a puzzle piece is the symbol for autism."

"Really?" said Lexi, looking at her shirt. "Even the puzzle pieces on my shirt?"

"Why yes," said Sherlock. "You know, autism is not rare. Meaning it's not little. It's getting more and more diagnosed in people. The number of people with autism is growing large. Did you know you had autism before I told you?"

"No," said Lexi. "My mother doesn't know either."

Just then, her mother came over to Lexi and said to her, "Hello Lexi. I see you've met someone."

"This is Mr. Sherlock Hemlock and his dog, Watson, mother," said Lexi. "He's the world's greatest detective."

"Hello there," said Sherlock, shaking Lexi's mother's hand. "Are you Lexi's mother?"

"I am," said Lexi's mother. "What have you and Lexi been talking about?"

"Well, we were wondering why she was so shy and sensitive," said Sherlock. "So I looked at her for clues and diagnosed her with Aspergers Syndrome."

"My daughter has autism?" said Lexi's mother. "So I guess I was right."

"What do you mean?" asked Sherlock.

"I knew my daughter was different than the people around her," said Lexi's mother. "She may seem shy and sensitive like you said, but she's just like everyone else in the world. She's capable of doing a lot of things. She can draw pictures and she can sing and dance. And she can play with people like a normal kid would do when she's not by herself."

"You really do those things?" Sherlock asked Lexi.

"I do, Sherlock," said Lexi. "Would you like to see my drawings sometimes? I'm planning to draw the whole town of Sesame Street."

"I would love to," said Sherlock, getting interested.

Just then, Elmo came over to the three and said, "Hello Mr. Sherlock."

"Hi Elmo," said Sherlock. "What brings you here on this beautiful day?"

"Elmo wants to know if this little girl would like to play ball with Elmo," said Elmo, seeing Lexi.

"Can I, mother?" Lexi asked her mother.

"Of course, dear," said her mother, with a smile on her face. "Go have fun."

"Thanks mother," said Lexi, then saying to Elmo, "What's your name, little red monster?"

"Elmo's name is Elmo," said Elmo. "What's yours?"

"Lexi," said Lexi.

"It's nice to meet you, Lexi," said Elmo. "Welcome to Sesame Street."

"Thanks," said Lexi. "Now come on, let's go play ball!"

"Okay!" said Elmo, grabbing a little blue ball. "Elmo's got lots of friends Elmo would like you to meet!"

So as Elmo and Lexi went onto the grass and started to play catch with the ball, Lexi's mother said to Sherlock, "So how did you and Lexi meet?"

"I saw her sitting by herself and walked over to her so I can talk to her," said Sherlock.

"Woof," said Watson.

"That's nice," said Lexi's mother, with a smile. "She's a good little girl."

"I can see that," said Sherlock, with a smile back. "I know she's going to love this place and make lots of friends here on Sesame Street."

Meanwhile, in the evening, when Lexi was getting ready for bed in a hotel room of the Furry Arms, she said to her mother, "Mother? What is autism? I know Sherlock Hemlock told me what it was. But I forgot. Can you please tell me?"

"Autism is a disorder that affects the brain," said her mother. "Lots of people have it. Not just you. Do you think you're the only autistic kid in the world?"

"No," said Lexi. "Only on Sesame Street. It seems like everyone is okay and the same."

"Everyone is different in their own way, honey," said her mother. "Having a problem or not, everyone is normal."

"Oh," said Lexi.

"Now why don't you get under the covers and go to sleep," said her mother, tucking her daughter in bed. "Tomorrow is a brand new day."

"Okay mother," said Lexi, grabbing her teddy bear and laying down. "Goodnight mother. I love you."

"I love you, too," said her mother, closing the door. "Sweet dreams."

Lexi went to sleep.

The next morning, when Lexi got dressed, she stayed in her bedroom and started to build with her building blocks.

"Good morning, Lexi," said her mother, walking into her bedroom. "Would you like some breakfast? We're having blueberry pancakes."

"Okay," said Lexi, still building with her blocks.

"Come to the table," said her mother. "The pancakes are ready."

Her and her mother went out of the bedroom and went to the dining room table to eat some blueberry pancakes with maple syrup. But after breakfast, when Lexi went back into her bedroom, she saw that her tower has been knocked over.

"Nooooooo!" said Lexi, starting to freak out. "Someone ruined my tower!"

Then she started to have a meltdown and banged her hands on the walls and on the floor.

"Lexi, what's wrong?!" cried her mother, running into the bedroom.

"Someone knocked over my blocks!" screamed Lexi.

"Lexi, it's okay!" said her mother, trying to calm her down from her meltdown. "It's okay! Stop screaming!"

Then her mother grabbed a few blankets and wrapped Lexi around with them tightly until she slowly felt relaxed and calmed down completely.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. When Lexi's mother went to answer the door, she saw Sherlock Hemlock.

"Why good morning, Mr. Hemlock," said Lexi's mother. "What brings you here?"

"Have you seen Watson?" asked Sherlock. "He ran away from me while I was having breakfast."

"Were you the one who knocked over my blocks?" said Lexi, holding Watson. "Shame on you!"

Watson whinned sadly.

"Lexi?" said Sherlock, entering Lexi's bedroom. "Have you seen my dog?"

"Yes Sherlock," said Lexi, giving Watson to him. "He's right here. It seems that he knocked over my block tower when I left the room for a few minutes."

"Watson," Sherlock said to Watson. "Why would you do that? You know she was going to be sad."

Watson frowned.

"Did you hear any noise before Watson disappeared, Mr. Hemlock?" asked Lexi's mother.

"Well, I heard Lexi screaming when he ran away," said Sherlock.

"Can you tell me why she was having a meltdown?" said Lexi's mother.

"Having a mental breakdown is part of her Aspergers," said Sherlock. "It happens when something doesn't go right or if there is change."

"Thanks Mr. Hemlock," said Lexi's mother. "I understand now."

Later, in the afternoon, Lexi went outside with her teddy bear, saw Big Bird's teddy bear named Radar on the ground, picked it up, and said, "Hmm? Look teddy, another teddy bear just like you. I wonder whose it is."

Lexi continued to walk around Sesame Street, saw a building that read on the sign "Finders Keepers", and said, "Finders Keepers? This must be where the lost and found is."

Lexi went inside, saw Big Bird, and said to him, "Excuse me, Mr. Bird. Is this your teddy bear?"

"Why yes it is," said Big Bird, accepting his teddy bear. "Thank you so much for finding him, little girl. How can I ever reward you?"

"Nothing really," said Lexi. "By the way, I'm Lexi. You?"

"Oh, I'm Big Bird," said Big Bird. "Are you new here?"

"Yes," said Lexi. "I came here yesterday."

"Well, welcome to Sesame Street," said Big Bird.

"Thank you, Big Bird," said Lexi.

"Say, would you like to go on a picnic with me and my friends in a few minutes?" asked Big Bird. "It's a beautiful day."

"I would love to go on a picnic, Big Bird," said Lexi, nodding her head. "And can my teddy come, too?"

"Of course," said Big Bird, with a smile. "I'm bringing Radar as well."

When the two got outside a few minutes later, they set the red and white checkered picnic blanket on the grass and placed the picnic basket full of food on the blanket as Elmo, Zoe, Ernie and Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Sherlock and Watson joined them.

"Lexi?" said Big Bird, pointing to his friends. "This is Zoe, Ernie and Bert, Grover, and Cookie Monster."

"Hello new friends," said Lexi, waving to everyone.

"Hello Lexi," everyone said.

"Mr. Hemlock told us all about you," Grover said to Lexi, eating a red delicious apple.

"I met him and his lovely dog yesterday when I first came to Sesame Street," said Lexi, looking at his twitching fingers.

"You really should look at the person you're talking to, you know," said Bert.

"Sorry," said Lexi, trying to look straight at Bert with her fingers distracting her. "It's hard for me to look at people. I'm awfully shy."

"Why?" asked Ernie, eating a chicken salad sandwich. "There's no need to be shy."

"She suffering from Aspergers Syndrome, Ernie," said Sherlock.

"Isn't that a type of autism?" asked Bert.

"Correct," said Sherlock. "But it's not bad. It's just that her mind thinks differently than us."

"Sherlock," said Lexi, giving Sherlock her drawings. "Here are the drawings I promised you."

"Let me see," said Sherlock, looking at each picture one by one.

The drawings were of flowers, trees, animals, and there was even a drawing of Sherlock and Watson. And they were all drawn from crayons.

"Ooooh," said Sherlock, looking closely at the picture of himself and his dog. "Very nice."

"Thank you," said Lexi, with a smile. "I enjoy drawing pictures."

"Have you ever thought about drawing the whole neighborhood, Lexi?" asked Big Bird, eating some bird seeds.

"Yes," said Lexi, nodding her head. "But it might take me a few hours. So please be pacient."

"Elmo would love to see Sesame Street in Lexi's picture when it's done," said Elmo.

The next morning, Lexi was sitting on the grass trying to draw the whole town of Sesame Street.

"Oh, this is going great," said Lexi, drawing some doors on her paper. "It's turning out better than I expected."

Just then, Cookie Monster came towards Lexi with a chocolate cookie and said to her, "Hello Lexi. Would you like a cookie? Me have a chocolate chip cookie for you."

"Thanks Cookie Monster," said Lexi, accepting the cookie and taking a bite out of it. "Mmm...I love cookies."

"Me too," said Cookie Monster, with a smile. "That's why they call me Cookie Monster."

"Now I have to get back to my drawing," said Lexi, continuing to draw.

"What are you drawing?" asked Cookie Monster, looking at her drawing. "Are you drawing cookies?"

"No Cookie Monster," said Lexi. "I'm drawing Sesame Street."

"Oh, me see that," said Cookie Monster. "Well, me going to get some more cookies. Goodbye Lexi."

"See you later," said Lexi, waving to Cookie Monster as he walked away.

A few hours later, Lexi was done with her picture. It was a drawing of the whole neighborhood of Sesame Street with all of her new friends and herself standing in front of the street sign.

"Mother! Mother!" cried Lexi, running into the Furry Arms Hotel where her mom was sitting in the lobby reading a book. "I've finished my drawing!"

"Wow Lexi!" said her mother, looking at the finished picture. "Very good! You did a great job!"

"Thanks mother," said Lexi. "I'm going to show them to my new friends!"

Lexi ran out of the hotel, found her new friends playing a game with jacks, ran to them, and said, "Everyone! Look! I'm done with the drawing I said I'll do!"

"My goodness!" said Big Bird, surprised. "That's beautiful!"

"It looks just like the actual street!" said Sherlock.

"Wow!" said Elmo.

"Woof, woof!" said Watson.

"This came out great, Lexi!" said Zoe. "Wonderful job!"

"Thank you so much, guys," said Lexi, with a smile. "You know, ever since I moved here to Sesame Street, I've been really happy since I found some new friends to hang out with. And besides that, I want to say that even though I may be autistic with Aspergers Syndrome, I'm just like everyone else here on the street."

"That's right, Lexi," said Elmo, giving her a hug. "Everyone here loves you very much. Even Elmo loves you like a sister."

"Awww, thanks Elmo," said Lexi, hugging him back. "I love you, too."

Everyone gave Lexi a big group hug. Lexi now has some friends for the first time who enjoyed her and understood her autism. She may be different, but she is like everyone else in the world. That's because everyone is different in their own way.

THE END


End file.
